Music industry

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5 Signs Your Record Label Needs NFTs As A Music Distribution Differentiator

Anyone that buys or sells music has discovered that COVID-19 brought upon us all a new set of consumer expectations. Companies using outdated pre-COVID-19 music sales strategies will not survive in a post-COVID-19 world. If you are distributing music in a traditional way, such as streaming, and your sales strategies are similar to a few years ago chances are that those distribution methods are outdated which means that you may be unconsciously losing fanbase market share.

I recognize the pain points and that everyone has anxiety due to recent market shifts, and might be afraid or fearful about cryptocurrency, stock market concerns, economic unrest, and the like, but donât put this off because the rough spots in the market will pass, however, you cannot afford to not use NFTs as a true distribution source for music. NFTs are a differentiator for your record label. This is guaranteed and if you do not innovate others will pass you by.

Passing You By Due To Lack Of Innovation

I was working for one of the world's largest gaming companies, negotiating Influencer and streetwear licensing deals, when the pandemic hit and it was an overnight shift in how we saw buying. We use microtransactions for gamers' avatar vanity capsules, however, after COVID-19 the gamers began gaming differently, and music artists began broadcasting concerts in the gaming vertical on Twitch. Consumers started to communicate how they wanted to be contacted, how they wanted to buy, which platform, when, and how they made their own decisions. They were becoming a different type of consumer and this directly empowered them.

Itâs been painful to observe record labels struggling with artist music releases, where rollout plans have horribly failed for large artists, and where labels have failed to engage fans as they are not paying attention to new consumer patterns of buying and they keep doing the status quo.

Those who have tuned in to see where fans are hanging out like in Discord NFT rooms and Twitter rooms, community collaboration events with other music and NFT peers, and are open to experimenting with cryptocurrency, have shared insights of who will be able to differentiate or who will be successful.

From the cryptocurrency, Web3 conversations, which can be overwhelming and confusing as the market shifts, sometimes can provide a looking glass into the future.

Still, navigating the space will prove to be the key for successful labels, and without adoption of new strategies, it may also just be the grounds for early disqualification by fans. Especially for Gen Z and Gen Alpha, embracing NFTs as a form of distribution is beneficial for the artist fans and the labels and will be profitable for all.

5 Signs That Your Record Label Needs NFTs As A Music Distribution Differentiator And Is Begging For Leadership To Engage

Your consumers are picking cheaper subscription music service models from a competitor.
Your A&Rs, artist and label partnership managers, and C-suite executives appear to not be active in virtual spaces, AR spaces, engaging in crypto discussions, and designing record deals that included advances in cryptocurrency and address NFT procurement & distribution in major label deals.
A well-planned teaching initiative for fans, educating the audience in NFT/cryptocurrency basics, where the fans foster demand organically and achieve scalability. Effective planning to counter the learning gap for fans to buy NFTs must be closed and it must be constantly cultivated for ease of purchasing NFTs.
The artist marketing efforts are focused on traditional music distribution models rather than on educating on NFTS and creating demand for your artist's music in new platforms and innovative spaces like NFTs.
Buying new music from you is a hassle without an easy way to use cryptocurrency on the label website, where the labels provide links to Coinbase wallet, Opensea, and more. This helps fans understand the process for executing an NFT purchase.

What has been your experience with the modernization of the sales process and engaging modern buyers? I would love to get your perspective.

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5 Signs Your Record Label Needs NFTs …

Why Record Labels Still (And Will Always) Matter

I’m guilty of fighting for the underdog in all circumstances especially when it comes to music. This may be a product of my upbringing, as my mother was known for being an incredibly kind, caring individual, treating my siblings and me exceptionally equally in all matters of life. This early pattern has served me well today as we see huge culture shifts in the music industry emerging, where indie artists are able to survive, maybe not thrive, but survive. This is inspiring to me.

However, I will always be a fan of major label achievements as well, with a focus on social media platforms like TikTok for talent scouting and metaverse concerts now moving into a mainstream position. Even with independent musicians gaining newfound revenue on brand deals, NFT opportunities, increased distribution partnerships, and touring revenue, I still worry about the impact of not having major label support. I have learned from working with music tech companies and gaming companies that having label support is essential to sustain a robust career in music. You may be discovered on TikTok but how do we know if you can maintain the heat?

As a professional signed music artist, your job is to make hot records. It’s nothing personal.

Success always comes down to a hit song and without it you're climbing a serious uphill battle. To me, having the connections of decades of music work where studio sessions, producer connections, and collaborations thrive in the major label system, provides serious insight into why major record labels thrive. Do I believe that there are exceptions to hit songs where an indie artist can create a banger? Well yes. Yes, I do. But economies of scale and history of voluminous impactful hit records in multiples have always resided in houses built by Sony, Warner & Universal. Let’s explore further why major labels have success-breaking music artists on a scale that is undeniable.

Artist Leveraging

I've seen a greater ratio of success with a larger volume of artists under one roof, where leveraging leading music artists helps smaller less established ones. Majors are able to execute proven roadmaps to break artists, for less money, more efficiently at a faster rate. And why shouldn’t they? They’ve actually put in the work.

To do this, they:

Leverage decades of work where they've had the opportunity to test many different types of distribution
Experiment in many different forms of social media ad placements for release strategies like hiring TikTok influencers to twerk to a Tyga song or rolling out an ad campaign for Dua Lipa that geographically targets her fanbase
Not to mention huge success with peers on the label that succeed in the touring with each other

Business Acumen That’s Exceptional

For example, with Universal Music group going public and reporting today a 21.6 quarterly revenue increase to 2.32 billion dollars, their portfolio style approach has shown us what a leader UMG is in the space. The growth across multiple business units is incredible and with their diversified artist roster, songwriters, retail merchandising, publishing and emerging metaverse projects in new markets is an incredible achievement. I’m excited as I have a feeling that UMG is just getting started. The teams at UMG are exceptional, enough said.

Marketing Buys & Ad Promotions

We cannot deny that when your company is making billions of dollars there may be a correlation to artist marketing success. (An understatement). However, the benchmarks from years of taking the risks and investing in huge music artists have provided the roadmap. Majors have invaluable, incredible statistics and analytical data assisting in maximizing dollars helping to make streaming ad buy decisions and spends for marketing dollars with an almost guaranteed success for releases.

Although I will always root for indie artist street hustle on the daily, I value and appreciate what labels are accomplishing as we make a huge culture shift. If you're considering a career in music, building a strategy for gaining label exposure is essential and fighting for that major label deal is crucial and definitely worth the effort.

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Why Record Labels Still (And Will Always) …

After three years of desert quiet, we finally experienced a return to Indigo Empire Polo Club grounds as the famed Coachella Festival arrived. An exciting three-day celebration prevailed. Whether watching it via live stream or in person, you could tell that the music festival did not disappoint. It was definitely a vibe. It's not hard to see why it was so successful this year for so many brands, artists, and fans that were in attendance. We experienced excitement in particular as some of the largest brands in the world participated in the event with a robust and impressive strategy for brand activations.

Coachella has been on hold through the pandemic since 2019 when it was delayed twice. This made the event this year pretty special with an amazing amount of professional execution and successful installations for an estimated 100,000 people in attendance.

This year Goldenvoice took on full ops of the Empire Polo Club which serves as the festival grounds through 2050. Festival-goers could feel the increase in crowd numbers which is an indicator that our society is hungry for live music, community, and ready to celebrate post-pandemic. The desert festival has been referred to as one of the most successful events produced and this year was no exception.

Brand activations were at an all-time high with many branded events dominating the experience with companies including Revolve, American Express, Soho House, and newer but culturally relevant brands like The GLD Shop.

The combination of brand experiences, great weather, and live music performances reminded all of us how grateful we are to live in a post-pandemic world. Brand marketing was at an all-time high time with some spending north of an estimate of $1 million for activations and events. Here are a few brands that stood out.

Revolve

The fashion brand Revolve hosts The Revolve Festival, which sits outside the festival grounds in Palm Springs and is meant to complement the main Coachella lineup for the fashion fast brand. Known for its elaborate influencer trips, Revolve once again arrived with a larger influencer crowd and more musical performances than ever seen before. What started out as the Revolve House five years ago has morphed into the Revolve Festival including access that includes entertainment such as Jack Harlow, Ty Dolla $ign, and Willow, to name a few. Massive influencers from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube were present, where they posted to Web the Revolve fashion they were wearing and what the house had to offer. Even with a few mishaps and shuttle issues, the event was epic, with an appearance by the Kardashian girls themselves.

Hosting brand activations are not only epic experiences for influencers but key brand success marketing gold, as organic posting in real-time from events like this pays off well.

In this case Revolve created the must-be-at event, with the largest celebrity artist of influencers, where hangtime is crucial for socializing and proof that you were at the exclusive event. Let's call it selfie heaven and a big win for Revolve with logo stations abound which flooded the internet all at once.

The GLD Shop

The GLD Shop is a hyper-growth jewelry company that has become a hip-hop icon. GLD is a number one online retailer of hip-hop jewelry worldwide and collaborations with athletes, celebrities, and artists have created a huge brand following. Coachella was no exception with a very cool way of branding for the event including frequent Instagram media posts of influencers fronting the product with Coachella logo branding backgrounds. The GLD Shop also hosted its own GLD Coachella house in a stunning Palm Springs neighborhood. Their Instagram strategy included multiple weekend events, professional sporting events, as well as Coachella. This balanced out the brand's online presence with a thoughtful perspective, staying true to its brand.

The brand offerings include tennis necklaces, timepieces, and more that were showcased at Coachella with multiple influencers. The GLD Shop provides an alternative option for jewelry at affordable prices. With Snoop Dog receiving a custom piece at Superbowl this year, and the hype around the brand itself, it's definitely a brand to watch. The GLD Shop embraced a different strategy with a super relevant, low-key approach to online marketing by partnering with LA teams and posting other events along with Coachella. This allowed celebrity fans of the brand to see awareness across the world by mixing posts with other large events.

American Express

American Express never disappoints. We have seen a marked increase in the presence of membership clubs hosting event pop-ups. American Express is leading the way, where they provide a whole new level of service for their members and Coachella was no exception. With the Amex Lounge Coachella 2022, they advertise taking a break from the action in a bar-like setting featuring limited edition artist merchandise, a bar, and much more. The lounge provided much-needed quiet relaxation and libations for elite cardholders. Not bad for all of those frequent flyer points collected!

Soho House

American Express wasn't the only membership club providing a memorable experience for members. The Soho House was a buzz as well. These membership events are trending and on the rise with Soho House establishing its spot in the marketplace. For members only, a $500 pass gains you access to the Soho Desert House 2022 for the weekend including unlimited drinks, entertainment, and parking, with a paired down fee of $185 for the same day perks for one day. The entertainment was incredible such as artists like Diplo, influencer DJs, and more. A really amazing escape for a hot desert moment.

Coachella 2022 provided a blank canvas for many brands to showcase their products, build relationships with influencers, and create awareness with brand activations. Events where music and fashion are on deck usually create an environment for marketing to the masses. These opportunities provide a setting for massive social media promotion.

Will your brand be part of Coachella 2023?

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Can You Afford To Not Have A …

7-Point Checklist To Landing Your First Job In The Music Industry

When I began my music career in Atlanta and the girl group that I had a stake in decided to break up (like all girl groups do), I was left to find my own way in the music industry and failure was not an option.

According to Music Times online magazine article on music artists breaking into the industry, only 0.2 percent of artists become "mega" stars, 0.9 percent are mainstream artists, 1.4 percent are mid-sized artists, 6.8 percent are "developing," and the remaining 90.7 percent do not make the cut.

It’s difficult to break into the industry as a business executive also, and if you do not have a strategic roadmap and an incredible amount of determination including resilience, you may find it a tough industry to become established in.

To break into the music industry, you will need to utilize the right tools. Let me give you examples of what you're going to need to do to get in and why.

1. Optimize Your LinkedIn Page

LinkedIn statistics have proven that utilizing the LinkedIn platform for leveraging job opportunities and building your professional profile has helped millions of new job seekers.

Highlight any music-related job experience and expand on the skills that you learned.

Once you have those skills in place, highlight this on your LinkedIn page to leverage for broader use, such as messaging music executives from your LinkedIn page.

Before you graduate, use your .edu email address to reach out to every music executive on LinkedIn that you can and request a career interview. Once you secure the interview, try to ask them to accept your request to connect on LinkedIn.

2. Develop Your Business-Of-One By Creating A Brand

Most music teams start from humble beginnings gigging as entrepreneurs to see if their music will resonate with fans and so should you.

Start a blog, website, IG page, or photography company that specializes in music artist images.

Contact artist management teams (you can find this email usually on the YouTube page of the artist in the about section or on Instagram they normally post their management email) to request a press pass. When an artist is coming into your town at your nearby venue, requesting a press pass is often a way to connect with local fans. All teams set aside press passes for exposure of the event with local news as well as for bloggers, etc.

In your email to the management teams, you could attach examples of previous concert images to grab their attention. To get started, you could attend a paid ticket show and take images to kick off your blog. Honing your skills and learning to take really great images will always be valuable for content.

Attach the images to the management email requesting access. Use your phone or camera to go to concerts under press status and take tons of content for the artist team. Build up your portfolio and reach out to 15 teams a month.

3. Get Into A Recording Studio

The struggle is real. Understanding the mechanics of music will resonate with fans, and learning by experiencing the insane obstacles is key.

To understand the music challenges for artists, it’s important to embrace the business from a professional level.

This is a requirement. Save your side hustle work money, Christmas money, etc. and rent out a studio, hire an engineer, find a singer, and record a cover or an original song.

Get used to the environment, understand the rules, engage with the teams—including janitorial staff and interns—and respect the studio. It’s a privilege to be there.

4. The Proximity Clause

If possible move to a city that has the headquarters for music labels and third-party music distributors, etc. As of this date, that would be Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Miami, or Atlanta.

5. Put The Work In

Work Work Work Singing GIFfrom Work Work Work GIFs

Volunteer in any position at festivals, venues, stadiums.

Volunteer to work for free to allow use of logo on LinkedIn page to show experience for the day of event help.

Cleanup crews, security, janitorial services, food sales, etc. Nothing is off-limits. There is no room for ego at this point. Get a major music venue logo on your LinkedIn page as soon as possible.

6. Marketing And Street Teams

Reach out to artist teams on tour by messaging their teams.

Instagram, Twitter messaging, or email may work best to contact touring bands and let them know you want to distribute flyers in your town to promote the show.

Print the flyers yourself, post them up around town, and send a picture to the management team if needed. Assign your title as “ Street Team for Music Artist XXXXXXXX.”

7. Take Certification Courses & Attend Conferences

There are a number of things that can be done over the summer to enhance your LinkedIn profile.

None more valuable than certifications. For example Google AdWords, Asana, LinkedIn Digital Marketing, Advanced Excel, etc.

Attend music conferences, online seminars, music legal classes, and industry executive presentations on music.

The efforts to secure these experiences will serve you well in the music industry and provide copy for your LinkedIn page to get the conversation started. Legend has it that it takes 9 years in the music industry to end up in the Capitol Records Tower. With these starter tips, nothing is impossible. Leveraging your LinkedIn page, working at venues, studio time, connecting with music executives and attending conferences, and gaining certifications will increase your chances of breaking into the music industry.

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